LAUGH FACTORY: Tiger Woods and Arnold Palmer share a laugh after Woods’ victory at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at the Bay Hill Club and Lodge inOrlando yesterday. Photo: AP

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ORLANDO — Tiger Woods has devoured the appetizers. Now it is time for the main course.

Woods, who yesterday won his eighth Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill to capture back-to-back starts for the first time since 2009 with his win at Doral, is now ready for next month’s Masters.

Woods, who finished 13-under par after shooting a 2-under 70 yesterday to win by two shots over Justin Rose, has constantly talked about the “process’’ of his comeback from scandal, injuries and a swing change.

Where does the Masters fall in that “process’’ for a player with 14 career major championships but none since 2008?

“Well, it’s the next event I play,’’ he said.

Despite Woods’ deflection of the question, it is much more than the next event he plays.

Given how well he’s played in the last calendar year, winning yesterday for the sixth time since he won the Arnold Palmer last year, anything short of a win at Augusta will be a disappointment for Woods.

His performance at Bay Hill, a place he’s owned in his brilliant career, was further statement that Woods appears ready to win another major.

His win marked the 52nd time he’s won in 56 tournaments in which he entered the final round with at least a share of the lead. It was the 41st time in 43 tournaments he’s closed it out after having the outright lead entering the final round.

It was his 77th career win, five shy of Sam Snead’s PGA Tour record 82.

“If I get healthy, I know I can play this game at a high level,’’ Woods said. “I know I can be where I’m contending in every event, contending in major championships and being consistent day ”‘in and day ”‘out.’’

There was little drama to yesterday — other than a short back-nine flurry from Rickie Fowler, who was paired with Woods and began the day three shots out of the lead.

Fowler, who had been dusted by Woods when they played together in the final round of the 2012 Memorial (with Woods shooting 67 to win and Fowler shooting 84), provided the one pressure-point moment of the day when he drained a 37-foot birdie putt on No. 12 to cut the lead to two shots — the lowest it had been all day.

Woods, however, answered by topping Fowler’s birdie with a 27-foot birdie putt of his own.

“I don’t know if that was the key to the tournament,’’ Woods’ caddie Joe LaCava said. “But it was huge.’’

The tournament effectively ended for Fowler on the par-5 16th, where he twice hit approach shots into the water and took triple bogey. After taking a drop following his first approach shot, Fowler rinsed his fourth shot in the water again from a mere 80 yards out.

“I would like to have that 7-iron on 16 back,’’ Fowler said. “If I had a good shot in there, it might have put a little pressure on him coming in on the last two holes.’’

But it was not to be.

While Fowler tumbled from contention, Rose, who led the tournament in each of the first two rounds, made a late move that would also come up short, because Woods was not giving anything back yesterday.

“You’re not expecting him to go backwards,’’ Rose said. “I was trying to birdie every hole. With Rickie on 16, those are the mistakes you make when you’re pressing.’’

Now the pressure shifts back to Woods, who will be pressing for his first major in five years when he tees it up next at Augusta in three weeks. That’s part of Woods’ process.

“You’ve got to be able to do it at home first,’’ he said of playing well. “That’s where it all starts. Then it feeds into coming out here and being able to do it Thursday, Friday, and maybe a Saturday afternoon, and then ultimately down the stretch on Sunday of a tournament.

“Then,’’ Woods went on, “you’ve got to do it in a major championship.’’